Music
Press
"Love's Face" has been voted to Broadjam's Alternative Rock Top Ten -- FIVE TIMES!
"The Pure Thing" has been voted to Broadjam's Folk-Rock Top Ten THREE TIMES!
Broadjam has thousands of voting members all over the world.
- www.broadjam.com
"Al played solo accoustic versions of a selection of tunes from his latest CD "Gift", a collection of love songs that ranged in tone from soothingly romantic to romantically defiant and always witty. His delivery seemed a little Holly influenced in some places Bern influenced in others.. Guitar was straight-forward and minimal but also melodic and catchy, and his dynamic vocal range had just a hint of an edge.
"...All the lyrics are poetic, catchy and very visual, modern bardic verse that borrows from country, folk and rock and has a penchant for saying what most people think about everyday issues in an off-beat, slightly sarcastic way. Ok Al, where's the next CD? I'm ready!" -- Cyhndi Mora - From
"Some folk fans seek solace in traditional music, not unlike classical fans who revere only dead composers. Other sare reveling in the newest expression of new folk/post-folk/third-wave Americana, or call it simply the Acoustic Renaissance. Some of LA's best Acoustic Renaissance musicians, in no particular order, are Kat Parsons, Sean Wiggins, Rick Shea, Marina V, Pete Hopkins, Kelly Fitzgerald, Anny Celsi, James Hurley, Denise Vasquez, Ashley Maher, Vertigo Road, Matthew Lee, Sally Zito, VOCO, Brian Joseph, Julie Gribble, Hunter Payne, Duff, AL POLITO, and Garret Swayne. Most fit... 'Somewhere between Starving and Stardom." -- Larry Wines - Folkworks Magazine
Discography
- "The Fall of Man (2007) To be released Aug. 07, available now on iTunes
- "Jasckass" (EP), released March 06
- "Gift," released in Fall '03
- "Reach Toward the Sky" CD by Emily Margaret Tessmer: Al played all the guitars alongside drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega) and bassist Davey Faragher (Cracker, Costello, Vega).
Airplay: Born To Be Your Man (Gift), John Wayne (Gift)
Photos
Bio
"Of Things Afflicted and Beautiful"
With the perspective of a mystic and the testosterone of a teenaged boy, Al Polito reconciles the opposites: the sacred with the profane, the spiritual with the sensual, the mysterious with the familiar. In the same song he may combine both poetic imagery and brutal honesty to make his point. His high-flying vocals carry both power and vulnerability, and his deft guitar work is both sweet and edgy.
“Keep your heart in heaven and your feet in the gutter,” is Al’s advice to anyone seeking life’s great truths. Finding inspiration in Taoist masters, exotic dancers and even his own traditional Catholic upbringing, Al explores these truths in his upcoming CD, “The Fall of Man.” (Available on iTunes now, CD available Aug. 07)
"The Fall of Man," even though it covers a wide range of musical styles in its 10 songs, has a thematic consistency of personal reckoning with reality, and redemptive transformation that comes with acceptance of self.
In "Temple Door," the singer describes a healing experience of sexual intimacy against a backdrop of droning rock guitars, sitar and tablas.
Instantly and consistently memorable, Al’s songs comfort the afflicted. But infusing his songs with irony and distorted guitars, Al is anything but a soft-spoken balladeer or tortured poet. “We’re all afflicted in one way or another,” says Polito. “Despite or because of our afflicted nature we manage to be brilliant, and beautiful. I want to celebrate that in my music.”
Al celebrates it in "That's Why I Love God," a twangy stylistic nod to Willie Nelson:
"If God were an artist there would be nothing that he could not create
Every school and style born of earth and metal, wood and pen and paint
Art to make me feel and think and dream of other lands
Some of his most brilliant work I'll never understand
That's why I love God"
Al’s guitar work earned him the honor of playing electric and acoustic tracks alongside Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher of Elvis Costello’s band for the debut CD effort of Emily Tessmer. On his own recordings he has attracted the participation of musicians who have played with Sheryl Crow, Michael Penn, Van Morrison, Doobie Bros., Three Dog Night, and Alanis Morrissette.
Al has toured in California, Australia and New Zealand, performing at festivals, clubs, songwriter venues, even fronting a gospel choir once. Songs from his debut CD, “Gift,” were named to Broadjam.com’s Top Ten a total of 8 times, and he has been added to FM and Internet radio stations across America.
Al is currently preparing for the release of "The Fall of Man" (on Polito’s own Medicine Stone Records), while establishing himself around the music scene of Portland, OR, his new home. "The Fall of Man" can be downloaded right now in its entirety on iTunes.
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